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:''For the cricket competition originally known as the Currie Cup, see SuperSport Series.''
The 'Currie Cup' tournament (also known as the 'ABSA Currie Cup' for sponsorship) is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, South Africa also competes in the international Super 14 competition.
The Currie Cup has been competed for since 1899 and is one of the oldest rugby competitions in the world. It has been held on an annual basis since the 1968 season. It is presently contested by eight teams, and the current champions are both the Free State Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls, who drew in the 2006 season final.

Contents

History

Trophy

Format

Teams

Results

Overall winners

Records and statistics

See also

External links

History

The competition had its humble beginnings as an inter-town competition in 1884, but when the South African Rugby Board was founded in 1889 it was decided to organise a national competition that would involve representative teams from all the major unions. The participating unions were Western Province, Griqualand West, Transvaal and Eastern Province. The first tournament was held in Kimberley and was won by Western Province. As prize they received a silver cup donated by the South African Rugby Board, now displayed at the SA Rugby Museum in Cape Town.
While local unions battled for the Currie Cup from 1892 onwards it would take decades for an annual competition to be established. After years of occasional tournaments, dominated by Western Province, South Africa’s premiere provincial spectacle kicked off in earnest in 1968. That year the Blue Bulls of Northern Transvaal, spearheaded by the legendary lock Frik du Preez, trampled neighbours Transvaal 16-3 in the final, heralding a period of overall dominance that has seen the men from Pretoria win the Currie Cup 16 times and share it on three occasions. This outstanding record is in no small part down to the most influential player to ever star in the competition – fly-half extraordinaire Naas Botha. Dictating play with supreme tactical awareness throughout a career that spanned three decades, Botha single-handedly kicked teams into submission, scoring all the Blue Bulls’ points (including four drop-goals) in 1987 as Transvaal were beaten 24-18 in the final.
Since the Currie Cup became an annual competition only one team has seriously challenged the Bulls’ supremacy – arch rivals Western Province. Wild parties broke out all over Cape Town when WP thrashed Northern Transvaal 24-7 in the 1982 final to kick-start their own golden age. Currie Cup heroes like Faffa Knoetze, Calla Scholtz and steam-rolling wing Neil Burger insured the trophy remained in the shadow of Table Mountain for a further four years before again heading north.
At the turn of the decade South African supporters were treated to two of the most memorable Currie Cup finals. In 1989 winger Carel du Plessis scored a last-minute try as WP managed to draw with the Blue Bulls 16-all. The following year most people believed Northern Transvaal just needed to turn up to beat Natal. The banana boys made sure the Blue Bulls slipped up, though, as they snuck home 18-12, inspired by fly-half Joel Stransky. The 1990s saw further improvement by Natal and the rise of Francois Pienaar’s Transvaal but, from the moment the Springboks were allowed back into the international fold in 1992, the significance of the Currie Cup steadily started to diminish.
These days the competition lags well behind the Super 12 and Tri-Nations in the order of importance for most of South Africa’s top players. Still, look at the toothy grins in the Blue Bulls camp as the team lifted the trophy for the third time in a row in 2004 and it’s clear that getting your hands on Sir Donald Currie’s golden cup is still mighty special. In 2005, the Freestate won the Currie cup for the first time in 29 years. The Bulls came on a runners up, but nevertheless proved their worthiness in the Super 12

Trophy

When the first overseas team to tour South Africa stepped ashore in 1891 they carried with them a particularly precious bit of cargo. Among the bags, boots and balls was a golden cup given to the British Isles squad by Sir Donald Currie, owner of Union-Castle Lines, the shipping company that transported them to the southern tip of Africa. The gold trophy was donated by Sir Donald Currie in 1891 before the arrival of the touring British Isles team. Sir Donald was clear with his instructions – hand this trophy over to the team in South Africa that gives you the best game and after a spirited display, Griqualand West became the first ever holders of the Currie Cup. To this day the trophy remains the holy grail of South African rugby. They then donated the trophy to the rugby board, and it became the prize for the Currie Cup competition. The inaugural Currie Cup tournament was held in 1892 with Western Province as the first winners.

Format

The current Currie Cup format sees the competition split into two divisions. Eight teams are in the Premier Division, and contest the Currie Cup. The other six teams are in the First Division, and play for the chance to be promoted to the Premier Division. The format has changed many times over the years, but this format is due to remain in place until 2011 at least.
The qualifying rounds are contested in a double round-robin format, with each team playing all the others home and away. This makes 14 games in the Premier division and 12 in the First Division. Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, and zero for a loss. Single bonus points are awarded to teams by two possible outcomes; scoring four tries in a match, or losing a match by seven points or less. Thus, the winner of a match can receive four or five points, whereas a loser can receive up to two points for a loss depending on whether they gain any bonus points.
At the close of the round-robin phase, the top four teams in each division advance to the knock-out stages, to contest the semi-final, and then the final. The winner of the Premier Division final wins the Currie Cup.
The winner of the First Division final plays the team that finishes last in the Premier Division in a two-leg playoff to determine which team plays in the Premier Division the following season.

Teams

Currently, South Africa is divided into 14 unions. Four draw players from an entire province:

★ Griquas - Northern Cape (home matches in Kimberley)

★ Leopards - North West (home matches in Potchefstroom)

★ Natal Sharks - KwaZulu-Natal (home matches in Durban)

★ Pumas - Mpumalanga (home matches in Witbank)
The Eastern Cape contains two unions:

★ Border Bulldogs - eastern (home matches in East London)

★ Mighty Elephants - western (home matches in Port Elizabeth)
as does Free State:

★ Free State Cheetahs - central and western (home matches in Bloemfontein)

★ Griffons - eastern (home matches in Welkom)
Western Cape has three unions:

★ Boland Cavaliers (Afrikaans: ''Boland Kavaliers'') - northern (home matches in Wellington)

★ Eagles - eastern (home matches in George)

★ Western Province - Cape Town metropolitan area
Gauteng has two unions that draw exclusively from portions of that province:

★ Falcons (Afrikaans: ''Valke'') - the East Rand and other municipalities to the east and south of Johannesburg (home matches in Brakpan)

★ Golden Lions - Johannesburg and municipalities to its west (home matches in Johannesburg)
Finally, one union draws players from part of Gauteng plus the entirety of another province:

★ Blue Bulls - Pretoria, the two Gauteng municipalities to its east, and Limpopo Province (home matches in Pretoria)

Results

Season	Winners	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1889	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1892	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1894	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1895	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1897	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1898	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
18991	Griqualand West	n/a	n/a	n/a
1904	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1906	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1908	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1911	Griqualand West	n/a	n/a	n/a
1914	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1920	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1922	Transvaal	n/a	n/a	n/a
1925	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1927	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1929	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1932	Border/Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1934	Border/Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1936	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1939	Transvaal	17 - 6	Western Province	Newlands, Cape Town
1946	Northern Transvaal	11 - 9	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1947	Western Province	16 - 12	Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1950	Transvaal	22 - 11	Western Province	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1952	Transvaal	11 - 9	Boland	Wellington
1954	Western Province	11 - 8	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1956	Northern Transvaal	9 - 8	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1957/592	Western Province	n/a	n/a	n/a
1968	Northern Transvaal	16 - 3	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1969	Northern Transvaal	28 - 13	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1970	Griqualand West	11 - 9	Northern Transvaal	De Beers, Kimberley
1971	Transvaal	14 - 14	Northern Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1972	Golden Lions	25 - 19	Falcons	Pam Brink, Springs
1973	Northern Transvaal	30 - 22	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1974	Northern Transvaal	17 - 15	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1975	Northern Transvaal	12 - 6	Orange Free State	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1976	Orange Free State	33 - 16	Western Province	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1977	Northern Transvaal	27 - 12	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1978	Northern Transvaal	13 - 9	Orange Free State	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1979	Western Province	15 - 15	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1980	Northern Transvaal	39 - 9	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1981	Northern Transvaal	23 - 6	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1982	Western Province	24 - 7	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1983	Western Province	9 - 3	Natal Sharks	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1984	Western Province	19 - 9	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1985	Western Province	22 - 15	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1986	Western Province	22 - 9	Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1987	Northern Transvaal	24 - 18	Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1988	Northern Transvaal	19 - 18	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1989	Northern Transvaal	16 - 16	Western Province	Newlands, Cape Town
1990	Natal Sharks	18 - 12	Northern Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1991	Blue Bulls	27 - 15	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1992	Natal Sharks	14 - 13	Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1993	Transvaal	21 - 15	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1994	Transvaal	56 - 35	Orange Free State	Springbok Park, Bloemfontein
1995	Natal Sharks	25 - 17	Western Province	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1996	Natal Sharks	33 - 15	Golden Lions3	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1997	Western Province	14 - 12	Free State Cheetahs4	Newlands, Cape Town
1998	Blue Bulls5	24 - 20	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1999	Golden Lions	32 - 9	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2000	Western Province	25 - 15	Natal Sharks	Absa Stadium, Durban
2001	Western Province	29 - 24	Natal Sharks	Newlands, Cape Town
2002	Blue Bulls	31 - 7	Golden Lions	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2003	Blue Bulls	40 - 19	Natal Sharks	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2004	Blue Bulls	42 - 33	Free State Cheetahs	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2005	Free State Cheetahs	29 - 25	Blue Bulls	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2006	Free State Cheetahs	28 - 28	Blue Bulls	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

¹ Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.

² Contested over two seasons.

³ Transvaal were renamed the Gauteng Lions; now known as Golden Lions.

⁴ Orange Free State were renamed the Free State Cheetahs.

⁵ Northern Transvaal were renamed the Blue Bulls.

Overall winners

Team	Number of wins	Notes
Western Province	32	Four shared.
Blue Bulls	22	Four shared.
Golden Lions	9	One shared.
Natal Sharks	4
Wildeklawer Griquas	3
Free State Cheetahs	3	One shared.
Border Bulldogs	2	Two shared.

Records and statistics

★ 'Most Career Matches'

★
★ 1. 142 Helgard Muller (Free State Cheetahs) 1983-1998

★
★ 2. 141 Rudi Visagie (Free State/Natal/Mpumalanga) 1980-1996

★
★ 3. 136 Chris Badenhorst (Free State Cheetahs) 1987-1999

★
★ 4. 128 Burger Geldenhuys (Blue Bulls) 1977-1989

★
★ 5. 126 Andre Joubert (Free State/Natal) 1986-1999

★ 'Most career points'

★
★ 1. 1699 Naas Botha (Northern Transvaal) 1977-1992

★
★ 2. 1402 Eric Herbert (Northern Free State/Free State) 1986-2001

★
★ 3. 1210 De Wet Ras (Free State/Natal) 1974-1986

★
★ 4. 1165 Andre Joubert (Free State/Natal) 1986-1999

★
★ 5. 1021 Calla Scholtz (Western Province) 1983-1988

★ 'Most career tries'

★
★ 1. 74 John Daniels (Golden Lions/Kavaliers)

★
★ 2. 66 Breyton Paulse (Western Province)

★
★ 3. 65 Chris Badenhorst (Free State)

★
★ 4. 58 Andre Joubert (Free State/Natal)

★
★ 5. 51 Gerrie Germishuys (Free State/Transvaal)

★
★ 5. 51 Carel Du Plessis (Western Province/Transvaal)

★
★ 5. 51 Niel Burger (Western Province)

★
★ 5. 51 Jan-Harm Van Wyk (Free State/Pumas)

★ 'Most individual points in a season'

★
★ 1. 268 Johan Heunis (Northern Transvaal) 1989

★
★ 2. 263 Gavin Lawless (Golden Lions) 1996

★
★ 3. 252 Casper Steyn (Blue Bulls) 1999

★
★ 4. 230 Kennedy Tsimba (Cheetahs) 2003

★
★ 5. 228 Kennedy Tsimba (Cheetahs) 2002

★ 'Most team points in a season'

★
★ Natal Sharks 792 (1996)

★ 'Most individual tries in a season'

★
★ 1. 19 Carel Du Plessis (Western Province) 1989

★
★ 1. 19 Colin Lloyd (Leopards) 2006

★
★ 3. 18 Ettiene Botha (Blue Bulls) 2004

★
★ 4. 16 Jan-Harm Van Wyk (Free State) 1997

★
★ 5. 15 Phillip Burger (Cheetahs) 2006

★ 'Most team tries in a season'

★
★ Natal Sharks 112 (1996)

★ 'Most points in match'

★
★ Jannie De Beer 46

★ 'Most tries in a match'

★
★ Jacques Olivier 7 v SWD in 1996

★ 'Most Final appearances'

★
★ Burger Geldenhuys 11 (Northern Transvaal - between 1977 & 1989)

★
★ Naas Botha 11 (Northern Transvaal - between 1977 & 1991)

See also

★ 2006 Currie Cup

★ Rugby union in South Africa

★ Super 14

★ Super 14 franchise areas

External links

★ Currie Cup history from Planet Rugby

★ 100 years of South African rugby: Part one

★ Currie Cup: The History

★ History of the Currie Cup

★ Good news for Currie Cup